November 26, 2007 | Posted in: Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully
How happy are you really? After meeting hundreds of people in the past couple months in my sessions, at tradeshows and over Thanksgiving hearing their stories; it’s interesting to note just how many people are not happy with their situations. They seem to be lumbering along at mediocre not willing to seek out alternatives, yet not wanting to completely accept their position. I’m here to share some insider secrets to happiness.
There are several books on the subject. One in particular is What Happy People Know by Dan Baker & Cameron Stauth. There is also a terrific website by Dr. Martin Seligman at Authentic Happiness. Dr. Seligman’s main mission has been the promotion of the field of Positive Psychology. This discipline includes the study of positive emotion, positive character traits, and positive institutions. Take some of his surveys about general happiness, gratitude, grit and strength.
There are two main building blocks to happiness: pleasures and gratifications. Pleasures are sensual and emotional while gratifications are those activities that call on our skills and strengths and give us a sense of a job well done. Gratifications can be further divided into our signature strengths – marks of character such as perseverance, kindness, curiosity and humility. We are most fully engaged in life when we are part of something that isn’t just for ourselves. True happiness lies in building on our strengths and not rooting out our flaws.
In researching true happiness, Seligman noted that the benefits from these 3 simple exercises lasted for as much as 6 months:
- Write a letter of gratitude to someone from your past who has been particularly kind to you , but who has never been properly thanked and deliver the card in person.
- Every eveinng for a week, write down 3 good things that happened that day and explain what brought them about.
- Take the Signature Strength Quiestionnaire at Authentic Happiness to identify your own strengths and then use one of our top 5 strengths in a different way every day for a week.
A creative way to send a gratitude card or lots of them for the holidays to help shore up your happiness and spirits is at BizBuilder Cards. You can even put your own photo or photos of your recipients on the cards and include a gift card or have the company insert the card into a box of gourmet goodies to pack a real punch. The best part is if you don’t know anybody to send a card to, they have a section called Send Your Love where you can send a card to somebody who needs to know others are thinking about them and sending support and love. Sending a card of acknowledgement is like driving a vehicle for the Law of Attraction – it puts you in an attitude of gratitude when you write it and also brightens somebody’s day when they receive it – a twofer!
One of humanity’s greatest needs is to feel loved, acknowledged and appreciated. Who needs to hear from you today? Why not send a card or postcard and start improving your happiness as well as the happiness of others who receive your greetings. Check out these custom greeting cards for an easy way to spread joy at holiday time and any time. Cheers – I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with happiness and pecan pie. (that makes me happy :-).
Gaia Hart
As the CEO (Chief Energizing Officer) at Hartful Living including GaiaHart.com and BizBuilderCards.com; I’m a Messenger and Mentor for women entrepreneurs, connecting them to their capacity to energize their work and their lives in the art of living Hartfully. At BizBuilderCards.com, you can make a living through giving with greeting cards and gifts to build your network net worth as an additive to your current business or an easy way to send gratitude and kindness to the world.
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